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Only 24 hours following enduring one of the most draining losses in Fall Classic history, the Toronto Blue Jays displayed total control.

Guerrero smashed a two-run home run and Bieber delivered a composed outing as Toronto defeated the Dodgers 6-2 in Game 4 on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, tying the Fall Classic at two games each and ensuring the matchup will return to Toronto.

Toronto had spent the early hours of Tuesday dealing with their 18-inning Game 3 loss – equal to the longest Fall Classic game ever – a loss that cost them the opportunity to take the lead in the matchup and depleted both bullpens. Manager John Schneider insisted afterwards that “they won a contest, not the World Series”. A day later, his team provided emphatic evidence.

Early Innings

The Dodgers again struck first. Muncy walked in the second inning, moved up on a base hit and crossed the plate on Kiké Hernández's fly out. But the early breakthrough did not rattle a Blue Jays team that topped MLB with 49 comeback wins this season.

They answered right away in the third. Nathan Lukes hit a one away base hit to centre and Guerrero stepped in hunting a curveball. Shohei Ohtani threw a sweeper up and Guerrero sent it screaming over the left-center wall. It was his initial extra-base hit of the World Series and his seventh home run this playoffs – a new team record – restoring the Blue Jays's lead after 13 scoreless innings and changing the tone of the night.

Ohtani's Night

That hit also ended Shohei Ohtani's history-making run of 11 straight at-bats reaching base. The two-way star had hit two home runs and reached safely a historic nine times in the Los Angeles' Game 3 comeback win. But on Tuesday, he started on limited rest – his briefest ever – after needing an IV to recover from the prior marathon.

Ohtani pitch speed was under his seasonal average and he struggled more as the contest progressed. Even so, he showed flashes of his typical control, setting down 11 of 12 after Guerrero Jr's blast and striking out six. He even drew a walk in the first inning to continue his Fall Classic record. But the Blue Jays made him work: six hits and four earned runs were charged to him in over six innings.

Late Game Rally

The bigger problem for the Dodgers was what followed when he finally ran out of energy.

Daulton Varsho started the seventh inning with a sharp hit to right, and Clement drilled a two-base hit off the fence to put two on with no outs. Dave Roberts had no option but to remove Ohtani, who departed to a standing ovation from the local fans. The Los Angeles' relief corps could not complete the inning.

Banda came into the mess and right away trailed in the count. Giménez fought to a full count before scoring Varsho with a base hit to left field. France came up next with a fielder's choice to make it 4-1, and that was sufficient to remove the pitcher out of the game. Treinen entered next but also failed to stem the momentum: Bichette and Barger hit run-scoring base hits through the diamond, capping a four-run outburst that pushed the margin to 6-1.

Blue Jays's Resilience

The Blue Jays's capacity to absorb early setbacks and respond has characterized their entire run. They once again did it without Springer, the injured leadoff man who left Game 3 after straining his oblique.

Bieber, meanwhile, was exactly what Toronto needed. Traded for mid-season while finishing recovery from elbow surgery, the ex- Cy Young winner stranded multiple runners and silenced the Los Angeles' potent lineup. He gave up one run on four base hits and three walks before Schneider summoned first-year left-hander Fluharty to confront the heart of the order in the sixth inning. Fluharty required just four pitches to get out Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, protecting a fragile lead that soon became safe.

Converted starter Bassitt then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth innings as the Los Angeles' bats kept to struggle. The Dodgers have produced only three runs over their previous 20 frames, an sudden downturn for a club that ranked among MLB's elite lineups all season.

Final Moments

The Los Angeles scraped a score in the ninth inning when Edman hit into an out to score Teoscar Hernández after a walk and Muncy's two-base hit put runners aboard. But Louis Varland closed it down without allowing a comeback to develop.

Following a game when the Blue Jays left a World Series-record 19 runners and fell apart after repeated of wasted chances, Game 4 was brutally effective. Six separate Blue Jays collected base hits, five brought home scores and the team converted nearly every run-scoring opportunity available in the late innings.

Next Up

The win guarantees the World Series trophy will be awarded at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have not celebrated a championship since Carter's iconic game-winning home run in 1993. They now know they are guaranteed a full house in Toronto on Friday night – and possibly Saturday – no matter what happens next in Los Angeles.

The fifth game approaches with the series reset and momentum shifting north. Dodgers pitcher Snell (3-1, 2.42 ERA) will try to arrest the Blue Jays's surge. The Blue Jays counter with rookie Trey Yesavage (2-1, 4.26 ERA) in a repeat of Game 1, when the Blue Jays chased the starter quickly in an 11-4 victory.